2011 Book #31: A Handful of Dust
A Handful of Dust is a strange novel. It’s also really good, though not nearly as good as Waugh‘s earlier novel, Brideshead Revisited. It’s strange because of the ending. The penultimate chapter of the novel was originally a short story called “The Man Who Liked Dickens,” which had been published in a magazine. Another American […]
2011 Book #30: Cannery Row
I waited too long to write this one, so I don’t have much to say. Cannery Row is a very short novelabout, well, Cannery Row in California around the Depression. It starts off with a description of the town’s grocery store owner and how he influences the community, then moves on to other characters, like […]
2011 Book #29: The Savage Detectives
The Savage Detectives is kind of a hard read. It’s also really, really long. It’s also worth getting through. I’m not sure how I came across it, though Roberto BolaƱo‘s 2666 has been on my radar for quite some time. I haven’t tackled it yet because it’s even longer than this one. Until recently, I’ve […]
2011 Book #28: My Life in France
My original plan for this blog was 50 novels in a year, but a friend recommended and loaned me Julia Child‘s My Life in France. It sounded interesting enough, and though I’m usually not one for nonfiction, I figured I’d give it a try. My Life in France is an “autobiography” about Julia Child’s years […]
2011 Book #27: The Short Stories of Conrad Aiken
I read The Short Stories of Conrad Aiken by accident, though I’ve been meaning to read it for years. I’d just finished Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell and was waiting for UPS to deliver The Savage Detectives, and I figured I’d read a couple of the stories. This collection includes my very favorite short story […]
2011 Book #26: Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
I’d wanted to read Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell since I first saw it on bookshelves a few years ago. I didn’t really know much about it except that it involved magicians but isn’t really fantasy. Which meant to me that it might not suck. I had a feeling that I’d really like it, but […]
2011 Book #25: The Silent Land
I usually don’t read books like The Silent Land, which fits squarely into the pop-fiction category. I found it through a Facebook ad that claimed it’s like a Murakami novel. I was, of course, skeptical, but I downloaded it to my (new!) Kindle and gave it a try. It’s was really short: I read it […]
2011 Book #24: Watership Down
I tried reading Watership Down several years ago and failed. I remembered what happened more than halfway through the novel, so I’m surprised I didn’t just finish it. It is long, though. And it’s totally worth a read. I really enjoyed it, though reading from a rabbit’s point of view took a bit of getting […]
2011 Book #23: The Moviegoer
I read The Moviegoer when I was in high school, and I hated it, though I knew I should have liked it. For years, I’ve claimed not to be a fan of Southern lit in general – with exceptions like A Confederacy of Dunces and, more recently, Faulkner. I’m not sure why I don’t like […]
2011 Book #22: Americana
This is the third time I’ve read Americana. I really need to work on the Thesis Monster, and it had been a year since I’d read the book, so I figured rereading it would be a good start. I loved it the first two times: it was probably my favorite DeLillo book (hovering there with […]